Configuring Multiple Hard Drives

[GonzoR76]

Hey all! New the community, and I have a really important question to ask. I do apologize ahead of time if this topic has been discussed, but after searching through the forums, I don't think I have come across anything that helps me out...

 

Before I start, I want to give details about the motherboard and such to help out with what I have to ask, and the difficulties that I am facing. 

 

- OS: Windows 10 Pro v1709 Build 16299.192

- BIOS Version: American Megatrends Inc. 1.40

- Processor: Intel i7-7700k CPU @ 4.20GHz, 4200 MHz, 4 Cores, 8 Logical Processors

- Motherboard: MSI Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon

- RAM: 2 x 8GB G.SKILL TridentZ

- Hard Drive A (OS): 120GB Kingston SSD

- Hard Drive B: 2TB FireCuda Hybrid Drive

- Hard Drive C: Samsung SSD 960 EVO 250GB M.2

- External HD 1: 3TB WD My Book 25EE USB Drive

- External HD 2: 1TB WD Elements USB Drive

 

Yes, this is a lot of memory. But each one (should) serve it's own purpose. I originally started with the Kingston SSD and a 1TB hard drive (No longer associated) when I built my first PC. Since then, I have added the ones listed above. Now, this is how I want it all to work...

 

- Kingston SSD to hold the Operating System

- Hybrid Drive to hold my games and other miscellaneous info like Pictures, Videos, Documents, etc. 

- M.2 to hold my big programs like Photoshop, OBS and other programs I use for work

- External WD My Book to run as a back up device

- External WD Elements to hold my work files I create in the programs I use for work as a software engineer. (I work from home and on the go with a separate laptop)

 

Now, just being well organised will solve the issues above, I know this. My issue starts when I try installing programs like GeForce Experience, or other programs that rely on the OS. In the past, I would use regedit to edit the directories so that any new installs would default to the hybrid drive, keeping things form downloading onto the Kingston where the OS is installed. Errors would pop up saying it couldn't find the directory or what have you. I promise you I've checked everything I could in the programs settings and in regedit to make sure from my point of view everything is pointing where it should. Yet errors will persist. From time to time even shortcuts I create on the desktop will point to nothing and I'll have to go into the program folders and click it there. 

 

So I guess it comes down to this. How do I perfectly customize my PC's hard drives to work together in the simple fashion I mentioned above, without the need (or there little of) of regedit. As a software engineer, I deal mostly in C# and C++ code, I am not as literate when it comes to configuring windows or BIOS aside from maybe slightly more than basic knowledge. Any help or tips are welcomed, and if you mention something I don't know, I'll ask. 

 

As a side note, if anyone knows of any methods to be better organised or programs out there that help with organisation, I'm all ears... or eyes. 

 

Thanks!

 

(Enjoy the photos of my PC build :D)

[Mira Yurizaki]

I think using symlinks will solve your problems. I used these to move my Users folder off C:\ when I had a small SSD. The OS didn't know any better.

[Guest]

Symlinks was going to be my answer as well, but I wanted to add that THIS is a fantastic way to ask for help. So much context and detail provided. Love it.

[GonzoR76]

THX! Any tips on how it should be configured / setup, or anything that I will run into that may seem hard to understand?

[Mira Yurizaki]

3 minutes ago, GonzoR76 said:

THX! Any tips on how it should be configured / setup, or anything that I will run into that may seem hard to understand?

Nah. It's literally

• Move the folder where you want it to live
• Make a symlink at the original location pointing to the new one
  • The name of the symlink itself needs to be the original name of the folder. The name of the actual folder can be whatever name you want.

[GonzoR76]

1 hour ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I think using symlinks will solve your problems. I used these to move my Users folder off C:\ when I had a small SSD. The OS didn't know any better.

Do you have any tips for PC organizing, specifically for photos and finding duplicates?

[Mira Yurizaki]

38 minutes ago, GonzoR76 said:

Do you have any tips for PC organizing, specifically for photos and finding duplicates?

There are file de-duplication apps around. I haven't used any in years so I'm not sure what's a good one these days.